build its knowledge economy, so Irish governments have put increased emphasis on higher education over the past few decades, which resulted in a major increase in the number of Irish TLE students ( Figure 1 ) ( Skills, 2012 ). In particular, government incentives such as the abolition of college fees in 1996 ( Clancy and Kehoe, 1999 ), and the 1995 ‘Charting Our Education Future’ white paper ( Education, 1995 ) laid the foundations for education for the Irish knowledge economy. However, given such a high level of investment in TLE, it is critical that the challenges